Kesha Talks Honestly About Rehab, Continues To Be Super Inspiring Under All That Glitter

Kesha is out of rehab for her eating disorder, and she left her dollar sign behind her. Now she's opening up to Teen Vogue about what made her seek help, and she's being candid about just how difficult that decision was. I continue to admire her honesty and how conscious she always is of the message she sends to her fans.

Kesha wants to make it clear that her trip to rehab was just to treat her eating disorder (“nothing more and nothing less”), which she's been “struggling with for a while,” but she's willing to talk about about what led her to that road:

“Making my last record, Warrior, was a pretty miserable process, and it wore my spirit down. I was fighting like hell to keep my whole irreverent essence and everything raw and visceral that I stand for in it, but in the end I was promoting something that wasn't the animal I wanted it to be. I decided to face my problem head-on.”

It's really admirable that Kesha was able to recognize her problem and get herself the help that she needed. It's also inspiring that when she made that decision she had not only her personal health in mind but also her fans:

“My whole message is to love who you are and accept all your beautiful imperfections. When I felt I was slipping into unloving territory with myself, I knew I had to listen to my own advice and correct it… I have a public persona where I need to be fun all the time, and I refuse to be a hypocrite. I felt I needed to get help, not only for myself but also for my fans. My worst fear in life is to be fake.”

I respect Kesha's thought process for the same reason I respect celebrities like Troian Bellisario and Demi Lovato, who've gone through similar struggles and used their experience to be role models for the people who look up to them. But Kesha is willing to admit it took a lot of bravery to get herself help:

“The decision to take control of it is the scariest thing I've ever done, and this is coming from someone who dives with sharks and jumps out of airplanes for fun.”

One of the reasons I've always been pretty pro-Kesha is that she has this honesty and genuineness about her that belies the wild stuff she does and the wacky outfits she wears. She's never seemed pretentious to me; that's just who she is and what she likes. But she admits that she's seeking to change that image, saying she's ready to “be pretty,” something she wanted to avoid before. Whatever image she chooses, we wish her health and happiness and appreciate the message she sends to the people who look up to her.